The Gift that Keeps on Giving

Trying to think of the perfect gift for that special someone? This year, why not consider a gift in honor of someone important to you? That’s what some Montclair State alumni and friends have done. It’s a great way to support something meaningful to your loved one, and it’s guaranteed to make more of a splash and last longer than another tie or novelty t-shirt! Here are some recent inspiring examples.

Alice Freed, Professor of Linguistics and a founding member of the Women’s Studies program, has created the Alice F. Freed Prize in Language, Discourse and Society to commemorate her 39 years in the Linguistics Department at Montclair State. “One of the most rewarding parts of my years at Montclair was being able to create programs of study that allowed me to share my enthusiasm for the sort of work that I did in my own research,” Professor Freed says. “When I contemplated leaving full-time teaching, I wanted to find a way to continue encouraging student success in these same areas of study, so I decided to create a prize for graduate work in the fields that I most frequently taught: sociolinguistics, language and culture, language and gender, and discourse analysis.”

The prize will be given annually to a graduate student in linguistics who completes the Master of Arts degree program in Applied Linguistics with outstanding work in the field of sociolinguistics, discourse analysis, or language and culture.

Professor Freed would be delighted if anyone wishes to make a contribution to the Prize to honor future student research. Contributions can be made through the Montclair State University Foundation.

Instead of asking for the usual holiday or birthday gifts this year, Dr. Elton V. Robertson ‘64 has asked his friends and family to make donations to the Dr. Elton Robertson Technology Award at his alma mater. He established the award in 2010 to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of his arrival as a student at Montclair State College. It provides a grant of $1500 to a second semester junior in mathematics education to allow them to purchase educational technology for their classroom.

Two deserving students have already received the Robertson Technology Awards. The first year’s recipient used his award to incorporate the use of six iPod touches in his Connected Mathematics curriculum for middle school students. The second year’s recipient used her award to acquire an Apple MacBook Pro for use in her student teaching classroom.

Dr. Roberson, a retired Temple University professor, is hopeful that additional gifts to the fund from his family and friends will help him to be able to provide multiple awards to students each year, and be able to help even more deserving future mathematics educators.

When Dr. Nel Rieth Noddings ’49 ’06 Hon. and her husband James were celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary in 2009, they asked their friends and family to make donations to the Nel ’49 and Jim Noddings Scholarship at Montclair State in lieu of gifts. They established the Noddings Scholarship to celebrate their 60 years together and their love for Montclair State.

Dr. Noddings, who is known for her work in the philosophy of education, educational theory, and ethics of care, is the Lee L. Jacks Professor of Education Emerita at Stanford University, and the author of 17 books on education. She received the Alumni Citation Award from Montclair State in 1999 and an honorary doctorate in 2006.

Special Tax-Free Gift Option for This Year—Expires December 31st!

Congress has renewed a special tax provision for those over the age of 70½. It is once again possible to make completely tax-free gifts from traditional IRA and Roth IRA accounts.

You may direct that any amount up to a total of $100,000 from a traditional or Roth IRA be given directly to a charitable organization on a tax-free basis without worry about normal deduction limitations, additional taxes on Social Security benefits, state income taxes in most cases, or other adverse tax consequences that might otherwise apply. Your gifts for 2011 must be completed by December 31, 2011. For more information, please contact Judy Linder ’83 at 973-655-5454 or linderj@mail.montclair.edu.